Amoxicot News

THURSDAY, Nov. 17, 2016 – Antibiotics taken orally are as effective – and doubtless much more welcome – than intravenous antibiotics for children recovering at home from complex pneumonia, a new study finds. Youngsters with complex pneumonia typically have to take antibiotics for one to three weeks after they leave the hospital, the researchers noted. To see if one medication method outperformed the other, the investigators looked at more than 2,100 children treated for complex pneumonia at 36 U.S. hospitals. Not only were oral antibiotics as effective as IV ones, they also avoided the risk of infection and other complications related to so-called peripherally inserted central venous catheters ("PICC lines"), which are used to administer intravenous antibiotics, the researchers said. "PICC line complications can be serious, resulting in hospital readmission, additional procedures and ... Read more

-- Antibiotic resistance applies when bacteria are no longer eliminated by a medicine that's supposed to kill them. Experts blame the problem on improper use of antibiotic medications. Here's what you can do to help, according to the World Health Organization: Only take antibiotics when prescribed by a health professional. Always finish the entire supply of antibiotics. Stopping too soon may allow the bacteria to continue living. Never save antibiotics for later use or use leftover antibiotics, and never share antibiotics with someone else. To help reduce the risk of infection in the first place, wash your hands often, get vaccinations and limit your contact with sick people. Read more

MONDAY, Sept. 19, 2016 – Despite growing concerns about creating drug-resistant bacteria, overprescribing of antibiotics in U.S. hospitals didn't drop between 2006 and 2012, according to a new federal report. Over that time period, 55 percent of patients received at least one dose of antibiotics during their hospital stay, whether it was needed or not, researchers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. "Antibiotic use remains common, and use of the most powerful antibiotics is rising," said lead researcher James Baggs, a CDC epidemiologist. Although the use of antibiotics remained about the same during the study period, a significant increase was seen in the use of newer antibiotics, Baggs said. "Because inappropriate antibiotic use increases the risk of antibiotic resistance and other side effects, continued monitoring of antibiotic use is critical to future ... Read more

TUESDAY, May 3, 2016 – Nearly one-third of the antibiotics prescribed in the United States aren't appropriate for the conditions being treated, a new federal government study shows. "We were able to conclude that at least 30 percent of the antibiotics that are given in doctors' offices, emergency departments and hospital-based clinics are unnecessary, meaning that no antibiotics were needed at all," said lead researcher Dr. Katherine Fleming-Dutra. Such misuse has helped fuel the rise of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, which infect 2 million Americans and kill 23,000 every year, said Fleming-Dutra, a pediatrician and epidemiologist at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Antibiotics are most misused in the treatment of short-term respiratory conditions, such as colds, bronchitis, sore throats, and sinus and ear infections, the researchers reported. "About half of ... Read more

WEDNESDAY, March 16, 2016 – Many kids who develop urinary tract infections tied to the E. coli bacteria are now failing to respond to antibiotic treatment, a new review warns. The culprit, according to the British researchers: Drug resistance, following years of over-prescribing and misusing antibiotics. "Antimicrobial resistance is an internationally recognized threat to health," noted study author Ashley Bryce, a doctoral fellow at the Center for Academic Primary Care at the University of Bristol in the U.K. And that threat is of particular concern among young patients, the authors said, given that E. coli-driven urinary tract infections (UTIs) are one of the most common forms of pediatric bacterial infections. Young children are more vulnerable to complications including kidney scarring and kidney failure, so they require prompt, appropriate treatment, added Bryce and co-author ... Read more

THURSDAY, Dec. 24, 2015 – Patients can be taught to safely self-administer long-term intravenous antibiotics at home, without the help of a health care worker, a new study suggests. The finding could have a significant impact on uninsured patients who might otherwise spend weeks in a hospital receiving IV care, according to researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas. "This really taps into human potential, giving a voice to the uninsured at the same time that it offers an opportunity for enormous cost savings to hospitals," study first author Dr. Kavita Bhavan, assistant professor of internal medicine, said in a medical center news release. Some infections require treatment with IV antibiotics for six weeks or more. Patients with insurance typically go home or to a nursing home and have their antibiotics administered by a home health care worker or ... Read more

-- By taking an antibiotic as prescribed, you can get well faster and help prevent germs from becoming resistant to your medication. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention offers these antibiotic guidelines: Never skip a dose of antibiotic. Always take it on schedule, as directed. Never stop taking an antibiotic early. Always take the entire prescription, unless your doctor tells you otherwise. Never save any antibiotic medication for a future illness. Never take an antibiotic that was prescribed for another person. Read more

THURSDAY, Nov. 5, 2015 – Scarlet fever, a childhood disease that had been largely relegated to the history books, is reappearing in some parts of the world, researchers warn. Outbreaks have been reported in the United Kingdom and Asia, said scientists at the Australian Infectious Diseases Center at the University of Queensland. "We have not yet had an outbreak in Australia, but over the past five years there have been more than 5,000 cases in Hong Kong [a 10-fold increase] and more than 100,000 cases in China," Mark Walker, a professor in the School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, said in a university news release. "An outbreak in the U.K. has resulted in 12,000 cases since last year," he added. The research team used genetic sequencing to investigate the rise in scarlet fever-causing bacteria and its increasing resistance to antibiotics. The study was published online Nov. 2 ... Read more

MONDAY, Nov. 2, 2015 – Antibiotics may not reduce the risk of infections in patients who undergo what's known as a "complicated" appendix removal, a new study finds. "The traditional teaching is that all patients with complicated appendicitis receive post-operative antibiotics to reduce the risk of wound infection or deep organ space infection," study lead author Dennis Kim, of the Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute, explained in an institute news release. But is that advisory warranted? To find out, Kim's team tracked five-year outcomes for 410 patients. All of the patients had complicated appendectomies, meaning that their appendix was found to be perforated or gangrenous. About two-thirds of the patients received antibiotics after surgery. Those who received antibiotics had no fewer infections, Kim's team said, and they stayed in hospital an average of one day longer than ... Read more

TUESDAY, Aug. 4, 2015 – An immediate, focused effort to halt the spread of antibiotic-resistant germs could save tens of thousands of lives and prevent hundreds of thousands of new infections over the next five years, a new government report suggests. As many as 37,000 lives could be saved, and 619,000 new infections prevented, if community health departments and health care facilities form tight support networks to quickly identify and address emerging outbreaks of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, said report author Dr. John Jernigan. He directs the Office of HAI (Health care-Associated Infections) Prevention Research and Evaluation at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "When health care facilities and health departments in a community work together to share information about resistance, and then use that information to guide and target prevention efforts, then we ... Read more

WEDNESDAY, April 1, 2015 – Newborns and young infants in developing nations who have suspected severe bacterial infections can be effectively treated outside a hospital, two new studies suggest. The findings indicate that the World Health Organization's guidelines on treating newborns and young infants with possible bacterial infections – such as pneumonia and sepsis (blood infection) – should be altered, the researchers said. About one in five babies worldwide develops severe bacterial infections during the first month of life, leading to about 700,000 deaths in newborns every year, the researchers explained. Current WHO guidelines recommend that newborns and young infants believed to have such infections be hospitalized and treated with antibiotic injections for at least seven to 10 days. However, many parents in developing nations can't afford, or don't have access to, such ... Read more

FRIDAY, Nov. 7, 2014 – Many Americans may check the box "allergic to penicillin" on medical forms, but new research suggests that most of them are mistaken. Follow-up testing revealed that most people who believed they were allergic to penicillin were actually not allergic to the antibiotic, according to two new studies. In one study, 94 percent of 384 people who believed they were allergic to penicillin tested negative for penicillin allergy. And in the second study, penicillin skin testing was performed on 38 people who believed they were allergic to the antibiotic, and all of them tested negative for such an allergy. The studies were to be presented Friday at the annual meeting of American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI), in Atlanta. "A large number of people in our study who had a history of penicillin allergy were actually not allergic," Dr. Thanai Pongdee, lead ... Read more

THURSDAY, Oct. 9, 2014 – Although food allergies have garnered a lot of attention lately, a new study reports that medications are actually the biggest cause of sudden deaths related to allergy. Over a little more than a decade, nearly 60 percent of the allergy-related deaths were caused by medications, while less than 7 percent were caused by food allergies, the study found. "Medications can be dangerous," said study researcher Dr. Elina Jerschow, director of the Drug Allergy Center at Montefiore Medical Center and assistant professor of medicine at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, in New York City. While research from other countries has reported medications as a major culprit in anaphylaxis-related deaths, Jerschow said, the problem has been less defined in the United States. One reason is that there is no national registry for anaphylaxis deaths, she said. The study was ... Read more

THURSDAY, July 17, 2014 – Antiviral drugs aren't prescribed often enough for patients at high risk for flu complications, while too many of them receive unneeded antibiotics, a new study says. The findings show that doctors require more training about the proper use of antiviral and antibiotic drugs in treating flu patients, the researchers said. Unnecessary use of antibiotics contributes to the development of antibiotic resistance. "Our results suggest that during 2012-13, antiviral medications were underprescribed and antibiotics may have been inappropriately prescribed to a large proportion of outpatients with influenza," wrote Dr. Fiona Havers and colleagues from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control Prevention and several other institutions. The researchers analyzed data from about 6,800 patients with flu symptoms seen at five outpatient care centers in Michigan, Pennsylvania, ... Read more

TUESDAY, March 4, 2014 – Many hospitals across the United States overuse or misuse antibiotics, which fuels the growth of drug-resistant bacteria, federal health officials warned Tuesday. Doctors in some hospitals prescribe three times more antibiotics than doctors in the same departments at other medical centers, according to a new report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "We have to protect patients by protecting antibiotics," CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden said during a noon press briefing Tuesday. "The drugs we have today are in danger, and any new drugs we get could be lost just as quickly if we don't improve the way we prescribe and use them." The agency outlined ways hospitals can improve their prescribing practices through recommended "antibiotic stewardship" programs. The CDC also is seeking a $30 million increase in the fiscal 2015 budget to help ... Read more